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Chapter 1: What recent escalations are occurring in the Mideast conflict?
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Nora Rahm. The war in the Mideast is escalating with strikes on critical infrastructure. For the first time in the war, Israel has targeted Iranian oil storage facilities in Tehran, and Iran has attacked a desalination plant in Bahrain. NPR's Daniel Estrin reports. This appears to be the first time Israel has targeted a civilian oil facility in Iran.
An Iranian news agency reported at least four tanker drivers were killed. The Israeli military says Iran made frequent use of that oil storage facility to operate military infrastructure. Iran's foreign minister said a U.S. airstrike damaged an Iranian desalination plant for the first time. Also for the first time in the Gulf, a desalination plant in Bahrain was damaged in an Iranian drone attack.
Chapter 2: How are voting rights being commemorated in Selma, Alabama?
These attacks on energy and water infrastructure are a significant escalation in the war. The region depends on desalinated seawater for drinking water, and much of the world relies on oil from the Gulf. Daniel Estrin, NPR News, Tel Aviv. People from around the country are in Selma, Alabama today to commemorate the 1965 Bloody Sunday march for voting rights.
Some participants say that voting rights are now under threat today. Dishon Cottrell of Troy Public Radio has more on the story. The original marchers were met by the clubs of Alabama state troopers who beat them as they were protesting for voting rights. March participants, like Kelvin Elmore, see new threats to the Voting Rights Act being pushed by Congress and the White House.
If you know the history of what happened 61 years ago and what we have now in politics where they're trying to erase African American history, this right here is proof that it needs to stay. The marchers are calling on Congress to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, a bill that would restore some protection to the Voting Rights Act that weakened by the Supreme Court.
Chapter 3: What legal challenges are impacting the Voice of America?
For NPR News, I'm Deshaun Cottrell in Selma, Alabama. A federal judge has struck down Trump administration official Carrie Lake's actions to dismantle the voice of America, saying she doesn't have the legal authority to do so. NPR's David Folkenflik reports.
Lake sought to lay off more than 1,000 journalists from the U.S.-owned global network and its sister network serving Cuba, and she tried to kill federal funding for Radio Free Asia and Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty. NPR first reported on the legality of Lake's status last August. For example...
We repeatedly asked for any evidence she had been named acting CEO of the agency by President Trump as required for that job. None arrived. U.S. District Court Judge Royce C. Lamberth wrote that Lake, quote, satisfies the requirements of neither the statute nor the Constitution.
Chapter 4: What updates are there on the search for the missing Malaysian plane?
Lake tells NPR that Lamberth is an activist judge trying to stand in the way of Trump's agenda. David Folkenflik, NPR News. This is NPR News in Washington. A Malaysian plane disappeared 12 years ago over the Indian Ocean. It was carrying 239 people. Their families today ask the government to renew a contract with Marine Robotics Company to keep looking.
Ocean Infinity has surveyed thousands of square kilometers of the ocean floor with no luck. The Broadway League says nearly 20% of theatre tickets are being bought by people attending musicals and plays on their own. That's double what it was a few years ago. As NPR's Chloe Feltman reports, a theatre operator is now taking steps to actively encourage audience members to go solo.
Chapter 5: How is solo attendance at theater performances changing?
60 people signed up for live theatre operator ATG Entertainment's inaugural Solo Seats event in San Francisco recently. The tickets included a discounted orchestra seat for the Broadway musical The Notebook on tour, a pre-show mixer with other solo seatsters and a free drink. Theatregoer Maria Sacada says this is her first time seeing a live show on her own.
I kind of love the idea of going to a show, like how you would see a movie by yourself. Social psychologist Bella DiPaolo says solo leisure is booming owing to rising economic independence and longer life expectancies. ATG says it plans to expand solo seats nationwide. Chloe Veltman, NPR News.
It is International Women's Day, observed every March 8th by the United Nations, to celebrate women for their achievements. This year's theme is Rights, Justice, Action for All Women and Girls, to emphasize the need to address inequalities. The UN estimates women still enjoy only 64% of the legal rights of men.
Chapter 6: What is the significance of International Women's Day 2026?
I'm Nora Rahm, NPR News.